


they were kids I once knew

by Seito



Series: tick tock, forward and back (time travel fics) [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Prompto Argentum, Gen, Time Travel, child!ignis, child!noct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17157974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: “Argent!”Prompto stopped as a tiny weight ran straight into his legs. He looked down, a playful grin on his face.“Hey Noct,” Prompto said.Three months since Prompto’s crash into the past, and he still wasn’t used to the way the younger version of his best friend would just, latch onto him like a clingy blur. It was downright jarring. To Prompto’s memories, Noctis had always been a little cold, even when he hadn’t meant to be, never seeking physical affection in any form.(Prompto had been the clingy one.)(Child Noct was being the clingy one was some sort of weird role reversal that still sent Prompto’s head spinning.)





	they were kids I once knew

It was instinct. 

Prompto hadn’t even recognized that his surroundings had changed (and even then, to his limited knowledge, it hadn’t changed that much.) It was still the wilderness, thick foliage. It was still a black night, inky darkness spreading and engulfing everything. It was still the scent of blood and the echoing ring of screams. It was still a looming daemon and helpless victim about to be slain. 

Prompto’s instincts kicked into overdrive. Death Penalty fell into his hands with practice ease and he let loose a Piercer. The bullets flew, disarming the swords. Prompto ran through his mental catalogue of daemons. 

It looked something like Melusine. A woman daemon, but instead of having pet snake guards, her bottom was that of a snake. Her swords gleamed in the fire light, wicked sharp and ready to slice and dice. 

Prompto scooped up the frighten kid, darting out of the line of danger. 

Death Penalty vanished back into that shared connection with Noctis and his trusty bazooka took itself place. Explosions rang and Prompto pushed off the ground, swapping for his short sword. In a swift stroke, the daemon fell, her head rolling across the ground before dissolving. 

Prompto surveyed his surroundings, listening for any lurking daemons. The crackle of fire hide the noise, but it slowly seemed to be dying. There didn't seem to be any daemons. 

But… the damage. Another group of people dead. At least he managed to save one person. 

Prompto turned to the small child, kneeling down. “Hey are you alright?” 

A chill went down his spine as the child stared up at him with achingly familiar eyes. 

“Noct?” 

-.-.-

“Argent!” 

Prompto stopped as a tiny weight ran straight into his legs. He looked down, a playful grin on his face. 

“Hey Noct,” Prompto said. 

Three months since Prompto’s crash into the past, and he still wasn’t used to the way the younger version of his best friend would just, latch onto him like a clingy blur. It was downright jarring. To Prompto’s memories, Noctis had always been a little cold, even when he hadn’t meant to be, never seeking physical affection in any form. 

(Prompto had been the clingy one.) 

(Child Noct was being the clingy one was some sort of weird role reversal that still sent Prompto’s head spinning.) 

“Noct! Argent!” 

Prompto found his arms full with another familiar tiny weight. “Hey Iggy.” 

Honestly, if child Noct was jarring, child Ignis was even more so. So tiny, so cute. Prompto could hardly believe it. Ignis had always been such a pillar of strength to him. 

Hell, Ignis had been an unwavering support for everyone as the world went dark. He had done the strategy planning, the logistics of everything, held calm in the face of danger, created lists and just so fundamental to everything. Gladio and Cor led the Kingsglaive/Hunters, providing protection to others and escorting them to the safety of Lestallum as each outpost went out one by one. But if Cor and Gladio were the protective shield in the front, than Ignis was the glue that held them together and kept things running.

The same Ignis who only in the darkest hours, in the quiet apartment he shared with Prompto and Gladio allowed himself to weep. But as soon as someone would need him, the tears went and Ignis was back in control. 

Prompto had always admired him for that. 

He, on the other hand, fell apart. That much was true. Losing Noctis to the Crystal, after suffering under Ardyn’s hands, learning the truth of his history, it had been too much. The first two years as the world fell to ruin was an utter blur and Prompto had tried to piece himself back together. Except there was no time and both Ignis and Gladio could only offer so much support before they had been pulled away by more important duties.

Really, it was Cor who had screwed Prompto’s head back on, dragging Prompto off on a mission to Gralea. It would have been a suicide run to anyone else, but Cor lived up to his legend and Prompto had to face his fears and demons that lurked in his mind. Cor’s steady hand on his back had been more grounding than anything else. 

Really. Without Cor, Prompto would have put a bullet in his head by the third year. 

And Ignis? Ever so careful Ignis? Who knew how turn his words so deadly sharp and precise, even as his vision was lost? Ignis had known exactly what to say to Prompto when Cor brought him back to seal Prompto back together. 

_“Not you too, Prompto,” Ignis whispered, holding him tight. “I can’t lose both of you.”_

_Prompto shook, trembling as Gladio placed a hand on his shoulder, Cor lingering in eyesight and Ignis still hugging him tight. Prompto understood and vowed to see this all the way through. He would, for them, for Noctis._

And he had, for nine years now until… he had ended up here, in the past, somehow. 

“Argent?” Noct asked. His child voice was soft and full of concern. “Are you okay?” 

Prompto smiled. “Yeah, just lost in thought.” 

Iggy pushed up his glasses. “You looked sad.” 

Prompto chuckled. “Just a little,” he said. He hugged them tight. “But don’t worry about me. Didn’t you two have lessons soon?” 

If he was remembering correctly, Prompto knew these two had lessons with Mariana, their math tutor right before lunch. 

Predictably Noct scrunched up his nose and Iggy looked excited. Prompto suppressed the urge to laugh. So cute. He had no idea it had been like this when his friends were younger. 

(His) Noctis didn’t like to talk much about his childhood, had only managed to confide once what had happened when he was eight. (And Prompto was ever so grateful to have had a chance to prevent that tragedy from happening again.) Prompto understood then, that there was memories that Noctis wanted to leave behind, no matter how many other happy ones there were. 

And Ignis, well for whatever reason, Ignis had bought Noctis’ silence on what he was like as child, no matter how Prompto had pestered. 

(Had what happened when Noctis was eight really been that traumatizing?) 

But so cute these two. 

“I know it’s boring,” Prompto said, bopping Noct on the nose, “But the sooner you go, the sooner you get to go to lunch.” 

“Argent!” Noctis whined. “Can’t we stay with you?” 

“No,” Prompto said firmly. Math was important, sorta. Okay, really, at almost thirty, Prompto had barely any use for math beyond the basics. Whatever had been taught in high school had been long forgotten, but that didn’t mean Noct should get into the habit of skipping his lessons. 

After all, if Prompto had it his way, the world wouldn’t fall to ruin this time and Noctis wouldn’t be trapped in the Crystal, for Astral knew how many years. 

“Come on Noct,” Iggy said, tugging at the younger boy. “We can see Argent after our lesson.” 

Noct clutched Prompto’s vest harder. “You’ll be there at lunch?” 

Prompto nodded. “I will. I heard we’re having green curry today. Wouldn’t miss that for the world.” 

“Veggies,” Noct said with a scowl. 

(It was hilarious that some things never changed.) 

“They’re good for you,” Prompto said, with a laugh. “Off you go now.” 

He waved to them as Iggy dragged Noct down the hall to their lesson. 

“You’re good with them.”

Prompto had slid into a readied stance, Death Penalty falling into his hands automatically. 

Recognizing who it was, Prompto relaxed his grip on his gun. Death Penalty vanished into Armiger again. “Cor,” he said. 

Cor stepped out of the shadows. “Argent.” 

Prompto resisted the urge to groan. Honestly, he should have picked a better cover name. But he had been panicking when he had a crying child Noctis in his arms and a thundering, displeased Regis bearing down on him. It was the first chopped up name that popped into his head. 

“Do you need something, Marshal?” Prompto asked. Death Penalty may be back in in the Armiger, but Prompto was still tensed, ready to spring into action. 

“No,” Cor said. “Thought you might like to know we confirmed Drautos’ betrayal. And warning had been sent to Tenebrae.” 

Prompto let loose a sigh of relief. Hopefully, this time Tenebrae wouldn’t fall to Niflheim’s hands. Hopefully, Lunafreya and Ravus would grow up with their mother still alive. 

And maybe with a full fledged Oracle and not one self taught because her mother had passed away too early could sway the Astrals into a better solution. 

Or something like that. Prompto gnawed on his lips for days when he realized he only knew the most basic version of the prophecy. 

It was something that driven Ignis to despair early on. Researching the prophecy and the crystal had been a side project, trying to understand why Noctis had been absorbed and when (not if) he would be coming back. But the materials had been lacking and the only ones who could have told them (Lunafreya, Ravus, Regis) had been long dead. Ignis had tried, but the lost of his sight meant majority of the heavy reading fell to Prompto and Gladio. Something they had gladly done, but neither of them had the research oriented mindset that Ignis had and it was a slow going project in admiss all the other chaos. 

(And then Regis, in this timeline, quietly confided the truth. Prompto destroyed a training room, until Cor knocked him out of his despair with a firm reminder that all nothing had come to pass yet.)

“Thank you,” Prompto said. 

Between saving Noct and revealing that Drautos was traitor, thus preventing Tenebrae’s fall, hopefully that would be enough. 

Prompto didn’t know what would happen if it wasn’t. 

He just knew he couldn’t, he couldn’t live through the world falling to ruin twice, couldn’t lose Noct to the crystal again, couldn't let Gladio lose bits and pieces of himself, couldn’t watch Ignis grow, bend, break and reforge himself over and over again. 

“Have you thought about introducing them to your younger self?” Cor asked. 

Prompto blinked. “What?” 

“You said, that you met Noctis when you two were in high school. But you’re already changing things,” Cor said. “What’s one more thing?”

Prompto gaped at him. That…

(He didn’t dare admit to Cor that he had actually forgotten that there was child version of _**him**_ running around as well.) 

Though judging by Cor’s amused expression, Cor knew exactly what Prompto was thinking. 

“I mean… I guess,” Prompto said lamely. Child him would love to had made friends at this age. It was relatively soon that his younger self should have gotten a letter from Lunafreya and would attempt to make friends with Noctis. 

Ah wait. No. Maybe his younger self wouldn’t be getting that letter. 

It had been an odd nugget of realization, around the fifth year of darkness. Umbra had been Prompto’s only companion as Prompto had cut his way through Myrlwood. They had taken shelter at one of havens, the soft glow of fading but still strong Oracle magic was a cold comfort. Umbra had cuddled close, whining softly. 

It was there, remembering about Luna and Pryna, that Prompto had pieced together the timing and realized that Pryna had been trying to get Noctis, shortly after Tenebrae had fallen, out of plea from Lunafreya to established a connection. Umbra succeed where Pryna had failed and thus the notebook was passed back and forth. 

Well, no, it wasn’t a failure on Pryna’s part. It was through Pryna, that Prompto had received Luna’s heartfelt plea for Prompto to be a friend to Noctis, physically, where she couldn’t. Sure it had taken Prompto years to work up the courage to do so, but the seeds had been planted so to speak. 

If Tenebrae didn’t fall, there would be no reason for Lunafreya to reach out and no subtle push for child Prompto to receive. 

That meant…

That meant… unless Prompto actively did something child mini-him would never meet Noct? That felt so… wrong.

Prompto groaned and rubbed his forehead. 

“Time travel sucks,” he said. How was he supposed to keep all of this straight in his head? Ugh, nearly impossible. He wasn’t super smart. How was he supposed to know whatever little butterfly wings was he creating and the impacts down the road? 

Cor snorted. “I’ll take your word for it.” 

Prompto sighed. “Help me figure out how to introduce mini me to Noct and Iggy?” he pleaded. 

And just to prove that once again, Cor was the most awesome person in the world: 

“Fine,” Cor said. 

“You’re the best, Cor,” Prompto said. 

“I got your back, Argent.” 

**Author's Note:**

> “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.”  
> ((In other words have fun trying to keep it all straight, Prompto)) LMAO
> 
> Happy Holidays!
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


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